Portable devices continue to grow in popularity and functionality. Such increasingly popular devices include media players such as Apple's iPod, cellular telephones, wireless IP-based telephones such as devices made Helio, Linksys, etc., wireless network compatible multimedia devices such as Microsoft Zune, Apple iPhone, etc., portable gaming consoles such as Sony PSP, Nokia N Gage, etc., and many other devices that can be used to send, receive, and/or render communications and/or multimedia data. Such devices typically include a processing system, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) or microcontroller, and memory that stores program logic (software). While portable devices continue to improve in processing power and functionality, and/or extended battery life, these devices still have limited signal processing capabilities and/or other resources compared to non-portable processing systems such as computers, network adaptors and routers, and/or fixed core network devices. Typically, portable devices are preferably small, preferably inexpensive, have limited processing capabilities, limited memory resources and/or have limited battery power.
In stark contrast, fixed processing systems that portable devices communicate with, such as server computer systems, network adaptors and routers, wireless base stations and access points, and fixed core network devices, have significantly greater signal processing capabilities. Such fixed systems can be large and do not operate off batteries. Thus, fixed systems typically feature high speed processing capabilities, much larger memory capabilities than portable devices, and virtually unlimited access to electrical power.
In general, a device such as a portable device that has limited resource(s) compared to a fixed processing system, is called a limited resource device herein.
There are known media data quality enhancement methods that require expensive signal processing that, if implemented on a limited resource device, might require too much electric power, thus draining any battery used, and/or that might overtax the limited signal processing power available.
EP1191783A2 describes a system for transmitting image data from a server via a network to a cellular phone. WO2008/058327 describes a small battery-operated headset device which, via a wireless data connection, operates in conjunction with a nearby device such as a mobile or cellular telephone. WO20051125099 describes a method for enhancing the quality of service concerning multimedia data such as video.